Taking a Shot in the Dark

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

June, x785.

"Fonzie should be back soon!" Elicia said happily while she and the rest of her group of friends sat around their usual table in the Fairy Tail guild hall.

"Yeah, I wonder if he got any stronger." Natsu added, just as excitedly. "Man, I can't wait to fight him when he gets back."

"Oh, you're looking forward to getting your ass kicked... again?" Gray asked in a derisive tone.

"What did you say?" Natsu asked angrily. "How 'bout I show you just how strong I've gotten since Alfonzo left."

"Bring it on, Flame Brain!" Gray shouted as he stood from his seat at the table.

"*Sigh* Some things never change." Mirajane said while shaking her head.

"Yeah, but at least you always know what to expect, right?" Lisanna asked while smiling at Natsu warmly.

At the same time, Natsu leapt over the table and punched Gray in the face. As a result, Gray was sent flying backwards, slamming into a table behind him.

"Come on! Can't you guys take your fights outside?" Macao asked while picking up Gray, who was covered in food and drinks, before throwing a punch of his own.

Luckily, Gray was not dazed by Natsu's punch or from slamming into the table. So, he easily evaded Macao's punch, causing it to sail past him and slam into Wakaba's jaw.

"Now you've done it, Macao!" Wakaba said as he returned a right hook, knocking Macao into another table.

Meanwhile, Natsu continued to rush towards Gray. However, instead of taking a hit, Gray ducked under Natsu's next punch before kicking him in the chest and sending him flying into the table Laxus, Bickslow, and Fried were sitting at. As a result, all the food and drinks on the table were sent flying.

"Damn it, Natsu." Laxus said in a threatening tone. "I was looking forward to that burger all day long."

And just like that, the guild hall was once again embroiled in a Fairy Tail-style brawl. Meanwhile, the conversation at the table where Elicia and the others were sitting continued like nothing happened. Though, the guys were eventually pulled into the brawl one by one.

"Speaking of Natsu never changing, how are things going between you and him, Lisanna?" Lucy asked curiously.

"*Sigh* I'm not sure." Lisanna replied, sounding somewhat forlorn. "I mean, whenever we're both in Magnolia, we spend a lot of time together. And we both really enjoy the time we spend together, too. But I'm not sure he sees me as a woman."

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Elicia exclaimed in surprise, causing all those still sitting at the table to turn their attention towards her. "You're not waiting for Natsu to make the first move, are you?"

With that question, everyone's gazes switched from Elicia to Lisanna. Everyone except for Bisca's, that is. Instead, she turned her attention towards Alzack, who had just been drawn into the brawl when a mug of ale splashed all over the back of his head.

"Yeah, I mean, isn't that how these things usually work?" Lisanna asked in a confused tone.

"Seriously, Lisanna." Mirajane said while once again shaking her head. "You've been with the guild for at least seven years by now. And have you ever seen any of the relationships in this guild start because the guy asked first?"

Hearing that, Lisanna's eyes opened wide in realization as an enlightened expression made it onto her face. Bisca seemed to also share in the enlightenment, as well. Meanwhile, the other girls nodded in agreement with Mirajane.

"Um... Alfonzo asked me out first..." Lucy said while raising her hand meekly.

Lucy's statement caused Elicia, Ultear, Mirajane, and Marin to glare at her with a bit of envy.

"Wait, why are you glaring at me like that, too, Lici?" Lucy asked in a bewildered tone. "From what I heard, you and Alfonzo were always together, right?"

With that, not only Alfonzo's girlfriends looked at Elicia strangely, but everyone at the table did so, as well.

'Oh, crap!' Elicia exclaimed internally. 'I was thinking about how things were in our past life. Even after I was the only one left, after everyone abandoned him after his accident, I still had to ask Fonzie out.'

["Hahaha! Good luck explaining your way out of this one."] Scylla said while laughing uproariously from Elicia's inner world. ["I love seeing you end up in sticky situations after not thinking your actions through."]

'Shut up!' Elicia shouted back internally. 'Just help me get out of this.'

["Nope!"] Scylla replied energetically. ["This is way too much fun."]

Luckily, just at that moment, the front doors to the guild hall opened. And when they did, Alfonzo, Cana, Wendy, and Carla were standing in the open doorway.

"Fairy Tail! We're back!" Alfonzo shouted loud enough to be heard over all the commotion.

"Fonzie!" Elicia shouted as she stood up to escape the situation she found herself in.

Before Elicia could catapult herself towards Alfonzo, however, Natsu launched himself towards Alfonzo with his flames as propulsion.

"Haha! Alfonzo, fight me!" Natsu shouted with his right fist reeled back.

Then, without worrying about the three girls surrounding him, Natsu threw a punch with all of his might at Alfonzo.

In response, Alfonzo took a step forward while tilting his head to dodge Natsu's fist. Then, he threw his right knee into Natsu's abdomen, causing his body to bend around Alfonzo's leg, while stopping his momentum, completely.

"Gah!" Natsu grunted as the air was forced out of his lungs, his eyes bulged, and he spat out a mouthful of saliva.

Then, before Natsu could regain his bearings, Alfonzo raised his leg quickly, sending him upwards. Then, Alfonzo quickly lowered his leg, spun on his heel, and sent a side kick into Natsu's abdomen.

*Bang!*

In the next instant, Natsu was sent flying backwards much faster than when he approached, knocking aside all the tables, chairs, food, and drinks on his path, before slamming into the opposite wall.

"I'm glad you haven't been slacking off while you were gone..." Natsu said in a groggy tone as he slid down the wall.

Meanwhile, the rest of the brawl came to a stop after seeing Alfonzo's display of physical strength.

"What the hell?" Gray asked in a tone filled with disbelief. "He was supposed to be working, right? When did he have the time to get that strong? I didn't even feel him strengthen himself with magic power."

Little did the wizards of Fairy Tail know, ever since Alfonzo found out that subjecting himself to the Techno Organic Metal strengthened his body, he had been abusing that knowledge to strengthen his body, nonstop.

As a result, he was reaching the limit a magically enhanced body could reach. And when he added his magic power into the mix, the only one in the guild who could contend with him in terms of physical strength would be Gildarts. Though, Gildarts [Crash Magic] could still overwhelm his [Metal Magic] and [Electromagnetism Magic], for now.

"A welcome like that always lets us know we're back home, doesn't it?" Cana asked as she took a bottle of liquor out of her [Storage Card]. "Now, it's time to make up for lost time after driving for those four and a half hours."

"So barbaric." Carla said as she let her eyes wander over the guild hall.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't expect anything else from our guild, would you?" Wendy asked with a smile that let everyone know she was happy to be home.

"I suppose you're right." Carla replied with a huff while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

A moment later, a pink and blue blur slammed into Alfonzo before wrapping its arms and legs around his torso.

"Fonzie! Welcome home." Elicia said excitedly.

"Hey, Lici, I missed you." Alfonzo said with a warm smile.

A moment later, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy joined the group of new arrivals at the front doors of the guild.

"Uh... Why did all of you come over here?" Alfonzo asked in a confused tone. "You know that I would have come to you, right?"

"We're going home to celebrate your return." Sun said in a matter of fact tone. "Some of us haven't seen you in a month, you know."

Hearing that, Elicia, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, and Lucy nodded their heads in agreement. Meanwhile Cana simply smiled without interrupting. Wendy and Carla, on the other hand, realized that they were basically being ignored. So, they decided they would go report to Ur before greeting everyone properly.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I need to report to Ur." Alfonzo said as he watched Wendy and Carla walk away. Then, with his expression turning to a scowl, he continued. "And I gotta give the guild their cut."

"Why do you have to give any money to the guild for something like this?" Cana asked, genuinely confused by the topic.

"It's because Mermaid Heel formally approached Fairy Tail for the job." Alfonzo replied. "And their cut is basically an intermediary's fee."

"That's kinda lame." Cana said with a frown.

"Yeah, it is." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "But what can I do about it?"

After that, Alfonzo's uncaring expression turned into one that would suit a greedy merchant. "Anyway, I gotta go report to Ur. I'll be back in a little bit."

With that, Alfonzo put Elicia down. Then, he started walking across the guild hall towards the elevator. And while he did, he returned the greetings to everyone who greeted him, as well.

"Hey, Alfonzo." Laxus said after ordering another burger.

"Yeah, what's up?" Alfonzo asked.

"When you get the chance, I want to spar." Laxus said. "I need to see if you've been slacking off while you were away."

"The way I sent Natsu flying wasn't enough proof?" Alfonzo asked with a chuckle.

"Of course not." Laxus said while shaking his head. "You could have done that before you left. I wanna see exactly how much you've grown since then."

"You make it sound like you're stronger than me, or something." Alfonzo replied with a grin. "But we both know that's not true."

"Hmph! We'll see about that." Laxus growled in annoyance. "Anyway, will you spar with me, or not?"

"Why not?" Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Get at me tomorrow after morning training. Then, you can catch that ass whoopin' you're asking for."

"All you ever do is talk shit." Laxus said with a battle hungry grin on his face. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is."

"Oh, a bet?" Alfonzo asked in apparent interest. "What do you have in mind?"

"If I win, I want you to make me one of those [Soul Armaments]." Laxus said with a grin.

Hearing that, Alfonzo raised an eyebrow. Since he planned on making [Soul Armaments] for the Dragon Slayers as an experiment, anyway, he did not mind making one for Laxus early, on the off chance that he was able to win his first fight in the fourteen years they've known each other.

"Sure." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "But what if I win?"

"What do you want?" Laxus replied confidently. "Just name your prize."

'Honestly, there's nothing Laxus can give me that I don't already have or can't get for myself.' Alfonzo thought to himself while he wore a contemplative expression.

"I guess I'll ask for a favor I can cash in whenever I want." Alfonzo said once he ended his contemplation.

"Sure." Laxus said. "Oh, and you can't use your [Soul Armament] during the spar."

"I figured." Alfonzo replied. "The fight was already one-sided enough. Don't want it to be a curb-stomp, right?"

With that, Alfonzo and Laxus grinned at each other with the thirst for battle in their eyes. Meanwhile, everyone else, who had overheard the conversation, decided that this was a battle they wanted to see. Though, they were unsure about why Laxus seemed so confident after all the times he had lost in the past.

The Thunder God Tribe were no exceptions, either. So, after Alfonzo finally got on the elevator, Bickslow, Fried, and even Evergreen, who had been sitting with Elfman before the brawl started, quickly huddled around Laxus to find out what made him so confident.

"So, what's the deal, Laxus?" Bickslow asked excitedly. "You must have come up with a new move, right?"

"Indeed." Fried added with a slight blush on his cheeks and a starry look in his eyes. "You must have found a way around Alfonzo's [Electromagnetism Magic] to be so confident. As expected of you, Laxus."

"Stop flattering him like a bunch of groupies. Let him speak." Evergreen cut in impatiently. "Now, don't keep us in suspense, Laxus. What's your new spell like?"

Hearing his teammates excited tones and expressions, Laxus could only scratch his head awkwardly.

"Honestly, I don't have anything new to show off." Laxus admitted in a slightly embarrassed tone. "I just wanted to see how strong he had gotten over the last month. And maybe get one of those [Soul Armaments] if I was able to land a lucky hit. Honestly, the combination of [Metal Magic] and [Electromagnetism Magic] is a bit too much for me to break through unless I learn another kind of magic."

With that, the table fell silent. After hearing how confident Laxus sounded when talking to Alfonzo, no one expected to hear something like that. So, Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen, after exchanging glances, did the only thing they could think of in that situation.

Bickslow and Fried ordered food to replace the food that was wasted when the brawl started, while Evergreen went back to the table she was sitting at with Elfman. Then, all three went back to doing what they were doing beforehand, pretending like the conversation with Laxus never happened.